A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device within, or attached to, a repeating firearm. The magazine functions by moving the cartridges stored in the magazine into a position where they may be chambered by the action of the firearm. Most magazines designed for use with a reciprocating bolt firearm utilize a set of feed lips which stops the vertical motion of the cartridges out of the magazine but allows one cartridge at a time to be pushed forward (stripped) out of the feed lips by the firearm's bolt into the chamber.
Some form of spring and follower combination is almost always used to feed cartridges to the lips, which can be located either in the magazine (most removable box magazines) or built into the firearm (fixed box magazines). A box (or “stick”) magazine, the most popular type of magazine in modern rifles and handguns, stores cartridges in a straight or gently curved column, either one above the other or staggered zigzag fashion. As the firearm cycles, cartridges are moved to the top of the magazine by a follower driven by spring compression to either a single feed position or alternating feed positions. In most firearms, the magazine follower engages a slide-stop to hold the slide back and keep the firearm out of battery when the magazine is empty and all rounds have been fired. Box magazines may be integral to the firearm or removable.
A detachable box magazine is a self-contained mechanism capable of being loaded or unloaded while detached from the host firearm. They are inserted into a magazine well in the firearm receiver usually below the action, but occasionally positioned to the side or on top. When the magazine is empty, it can be detached from the firearm and replaced by another full magazine. This significantly speeds the process of reloading, allowing the operator quick access to ammunition. This type of magazine may be straight or curved, the curve being necessary if the rifle uses rimmed ammunition or ammunition with a tapered case.
Although a conventional spring and follower combination is usually a reliable mechanism for feeding cartridges to the feed lips, occasionally conventional followers can tilt. A tilted follower can cause the cartridges in the magazine to jam or misfeed, which results in an extremely dangerous situation because the firearm cannot chamber additional cartridges until the problem is corrected.
Two existing approaches to preventing tilting followers are the follower disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,908,780 to Fitzpatrick et al. and the 5.56 mm 30 round Improved Magazine developed by Program Executive Office Soldier of the U.S. Army. Both of these approaches rely on friction being generated between the follower and the magazine body in order to provide the anti-tilt properties. This friction between the follower and the magazine body makes the magazine vulnerable to slow feeding speeds and malfunctions if the spring weakens and/or any dust or debris is present that creates additional friction.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved magazine with tilt-resistant follower that utilizes minimal friction to provide the anti-tilt properties. In this regard, the various embodiments of the present invention substantially fulfill at least some of these needs. In this respect, the magazine with tilt-resistant follower according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of providing the follower with anti-tilt properties while utilizing minimal friction between the follower and the magazine body.